Mourning Glory
by Archer the Undreamed
Summary: Prince Adrian is every inch the Hero that the people of Albion expected him to be. His fraternal twin Ariana, on the other hand, thinks most of this is utterly insane and that her brother gave himself one too many concussions while following his heart's ambition of hitting things with sticks.
1. Chapter 1

"I love mornings." Ariana gave a long, luxurious stretch and relished in the feeling of dew on the grass under her feet, the cool breath of morning on her face, and the peaceful quiet that envelops the world in those early hours. Her brother slept with that silly dog of his, but she liked to wake by herself as soon as the sun comes up and sneak out to the palace gardens. She felt a sudden pang of self-consciousness and glanced around the garden to be sure no one else was around to see her in her nightclothes. Getting dressed before she went outside always seemed like such a waste of time that could be spent squishing mud between her toes.

Despite feeling like she could just stand and breathe in the fresh air forever, Ariana eventually sighed. -_The castle servants will be up soon- _she thought to herself, -_ I should really get back to my room, it's not exactly seemly for a princess to be wandering about in her pajamas. I should take up sleeping in regular clothes, so that it isn't an issue any longer. Somehow I doubt Anna will let me, though._ - Ariana procrastinated for a long moment, surveying the landscape before her. All of Bowerstone was laid out before her feet, looking so peaceful and idyllic. She doubted it was anything like that living down there, but from up here…. What's that saying? Everyone looks like ants. Easy to survey a kingdom with pride when you haven't seen it up close.

She forced herself to turn back towards the castle. The castle filled with her stupidly oppressive clothes, dull and redundant etiquette lessons, and awkward combat practices. She caught herself before she could make a distinctly unladylike groan.

-_No point in being so negative-_ she chided herself. -_I can do this and more. I am a Princess, and that means I have to do this. I CAN learn all of these things, I will not break, I will bend_- With a smile plastered on her face, she sneaks back into the castle, past all of the guards, and into her room.

Anna looked up, directly at Ariana, and smiled. She'd known where her little princess had been going every morning for years. Luckily, she had no qualms with Ariana taking a few moments to herself, and she gestured to the clothes laid out on the bed. "I picked out a few outfits for you to wear today" Anna explained, " I think Miss Elise and Master Elliott will be here later today, and I thought you might like to wear something a little less… elaborate for today". Anna noted that Ariana's face lit up at the mention of her friends, and Ariana tore across the room to evaluate her outfit options. No doubt she was also pleased to not have to wear offending garments as well, Anna thought to herself. The garb of a princess was uncomfortable and ungainly. Everything was so layered and heavy that Ariana once remarked that even her corsets appeared to have corsets.

"Here, let me help you" Anna kindly insisted, after realizing how haphazardly Ariana was throwing around her clothes. She moved around Ariana, and helped her remove her nightclothes. Ariana was glaring at the corsets on the bed, and Anna chuckled. "You know, there are plenty of girls down in the Markets who would fight a troop of Hobbes for that corset." Ariana snorted "If they can beat the Hobbes, they can have ALL of my corsets." Anna tutted at her little princess, picked the corset up off the bed and situated it around her charge. She began to speak as she was lacing it up, "Aren't you excited to see Elliott? I hear he rather fancies you." Ariana rolled her eyes, uninterested in where this conversation was going, as Anna continued. "I also hear that you are incredibly interested." She tried not to laugh as Ariana attempted to whip around, and Ariana sputtered "Really? THAT'S what they think?" Anna lost the battle with the laugh that escaped her desperate lips, and sighed. "Yes, but I know they're wrong. Think what you like, but those gossips see you and Elliott together, and their first thoughts are of little princes and princesses."

Ariana laughed "Regardless of the fact that I'm also with Elise and Adrian while I'm with them? Oh, are they pairing up Adrian and Elise while they're at it? Maybe we're all wandering off into the gardens and having sexy parties, I bet they'd LOVE that." Anna giggled "Oh, but they think those two are together, too. They put that idea into your brother's head, now. He probably thinks he's going to have to marry her." Ariana couldn't help it, she started shaking with laughter, and Anna swatted her. "You know, it's hard enough lacing these up without you squirming in them" she scolded playfully. Ariana apologetically straightened into her "princess posture", and continued "but oh, can you IMAGINE it? Adrian's so hopeless with people. He gets all "duty-bound" and starts talking about "honor" and "nobility", I imagine Elise would rather marry a rabid Balverine. At least the nightmare would be over quickly." Anna snorted, "My lady, you mustn't say these things, what if they actually wed? Wouldn't you feel perfectly horrid, then?" Ariana stared thoughtfully out the window for a moment, then replied, "Perhaps for Elise."

* * *

She was dressed now, and she felt the corset pressing hatefully against her ribcage. Ariana supposed she should be thankful for small miracles; at least she was in lighter clothes today. She could actually move without feeling like she needed Anna to follow her everywhere, holding up one of those incredibly heavy skirts. She didn't know how the noblewomen managed to look so graceful in the things, she hated just walking in those horrible dresses, but the women of the court actually went out and did things in them. They got in and out of carriages, went for walks, even dancing! She couldn't imagine how they did it.

She tried very hard to not look like she was hurrying, gliding gracefully through the halls of the castle on her way out to the front gardens, where Elise would be waiting for her. She and Elise had been friends for –_what, ten years now?_- and they had a very finely-tuned routine by now. Every week on Sunday, Elise would arrive early in the morning, and they would sneak off to the Markets for a long walk and sweetbreads for breakfast. Then they'd come back a few hours later, find Elliott and Adrian, and spend the rest of the day with them. It was a relaxing routine, and Ariana found herself looking forward to it all week. It broke up the banality of the constant lessons, the incessant pitying looks thrown her way by her brothers and the staff.

She got it. She's small. She's _delicate_, liable to break if someone breathed in her general direction a little too vigorously. Ariana hated the way they looked at her. She knew why, of course. They'd tried so hard to keep it from her, but being small sometimes had its advantages. She'd overheard things, pieced the gossip together, and still didn't want their concern. Evidently, in the womb, her brother had twisted the umbilical cord around her neck, nearly killing her. That was why she'd been so small when she was born. Everyone had been sure she wouldn't survive, she was too small, she'd been deprived of nutrients for too long, and possibly oxygen. They needn't have been so worried. Her father knew it, why didn't they? She'd been a fighter. She'd grown up entirely normally, albeit smaller than most children. While she'd never be as large as her brother, she'd been considerably more intelligent.

While everyone else seemed content to treat her as a porcelain doll, her father had seen her languishing without stimulation, and gave her the greatest gift any child could ask for: his attention. While her brother was off, running around with other children and receiving multiple concussions, she had been with her father and Logan in the throne room. She had watched the decisions her father had made, and he had taken the time to explain his reasoning behind anything she didn't understand. He had impressed upon her the thirst for knowledge, and spent hours with her in the library, reading to her and having her read to him. She had been groomed to rule, like Logan, and she was grateful for it. The constant lessons in etiquette, foreign languages, music, and history were a fantastic pain, but they would be useful someday, she was sure of it. Walter had even told her that Logan had been considering giving her some responsibility over certain aspects of the kingdom. She was sure they wouldn't be terribly important, but she also knew that it was a fantastic compliment coming from Logan to even consider it. He delegated nothing in his rule of the kingdom. He had always insisted on being informed on all matters, even when he was traveling.

She had asked him once, why he insisted on doing that. He'd smiled and ruffled her hair, the way he always had, and told her that it was important for a King to know everything they can about their kingdom. Their father had always been like that, too. She'd been mystified as to why they would work themselves to death like that. No matter how trivial or boring the subject was, both her father and Logan had insisted on sitting through meetings, receiving briefings, and making decisions. She had no qualms with their enthusiasm, but she thought delegations might really have been the way to go for some of those tasks. Though she loved her father and brothers dearly, they certainly had their share of faults. They all tended to get tunnel vision, focusing so intently on their intended task that everything else fell to the wayside and they never saw the potential threats coming from the sides.

She was almost sure that was why Logan had made a deal with Reaver. She wouldn't lie, it was a shrewd move. She might have made the same decision, were she the monarch, but she doubted it was for the same reasons. Dealing with Reaver was like holding a tiger by the tail, it was dangerous at both ends, and hard to know which was worse -holding on, or letting go. To be sure, he'd probably vastly increased the size of the treasury and Logan's influence, but at great cost to the support of Albion's people. It was a tricky proposal, for a ruler really needed both. She was unsure of how she would have approached the issue any differently, though. The money had to come from somewhere, and a man like Reaver could only be controlled by his greed and self-interest. If he wasn't given SOMETHING, he would go ahead and take it, and that arrangement would be even less pleasant than the predicament Albion currently found itself in.

* * *

She found Elise in her usual place, on the bench near the gardens, playing with something in her hand. She snuck up quietly around her, sneaking her arms around her friend, which startled Elise "Oh, AVO! Elise squeaked, "You scared me! I didn't hear you coming!" Ariana giggled furiously, while Elise pouted, Ariana's arms still wrapped tightly around her. "So, what do you have there?" Ariana asked, loosening her hold on Elise to move to her side and peer into her hands. "Oh, it's one of the flowers from the garden" Elise giggled "just don't tell the groundskeepers I picked one, they'd take my hands." "That they might", Ariana laughed "I can just see it now- them chasing you down across the gardens, wielding pruning shears." Elise's eyes widened at the thought "They….wouldn't actually do that, would they?" "I don't know. Probably not. I can only imagine how that would dull their shears" Ariana teased. Surprisingly enough, Elise didn't look very reassured. Ariana hugged her tight "I wouldn't let them take you anyway. After all, I need someone to take the blame when I do something unseemly, and I'm in rather short supply of friends."

Elise sighed "Oh, Ari. You're awful, you know that?" Ariana laughed, and grabbed her hand, pulling her towards the gate, "Oh, I do. Logan makes a point of telling me three times before breakfast, even." "Wait!" Elise yelped. Ariana stopped abruptly and turned to her friend, who was looking bashfully down at her feet. "I picked it for you" Elise slowly explained, not looking up to meet her in the eye. "What?" Ariana said, confused. "I picked that flower for _you_" Elise said, placing it carefully in her hand. Ariana looked down at it, and for the first time really saw it. It was a pretty flower, it rather looked like a star. And it was her favorite color, blue. "Thank you, Elise" she smile warmly. "It's beautiful." She tucked it gently into the pocket of her dress. "I'll put it on my dresser at in my room once we get back". Elise grinned from ear to ear at that, and grabbed Ariana's hand, pulling her out of the confines of the castle garden and into Bowerstone Market.

Ariana could never understand why the sweetbreads in the castle were never as delicious as the ones she and Elise ate on their days out. Maybe these food vendors just knew something the chefs at the castle didn't. Or maybe they just hated her and her family and didn't want them to know what happiness tasted like. She'd probably never know. She and Elise had had a wonderful morning in the market. They'd found some interesting clothes, and fabric Ariana just knew would make a beautiful dress when she had time to make it. They'd inspected some of the other shops, and she had vastly embarrassed Elise when she jokingly accused a shopkeep of not having a fabric in the exact shade of her eyes. She'd had to explain that that was how she was under the impression that nobility was supposed to behave in public, and the shopkeep had barely managed to stifle his laughter. He'd then asked, through tearing eyes, what she'd have said if he HAD managed to have a fabric in that shade, and she'd informed him that she would have accused him of copying her, as a good noble always has a complaint ready. He'd really lost it, then, and had barely contained himself when a servant of some noble family had somberly marched in. She and Elise had beat a quick retreat then, not wanting to alert more of the nobles to her temporary escape than absolutely necessary. Those nobles were leeches.

She couldn't think of the last time she'd been out without being accosted by a citizen of Albion. They were always wanting her to sign things, to talk to her, to touch her hair and clothes. She tried not to mind, but there were just so many of them. But none were worse than the nobles. They wanted only one of two things: favors, or to watch her squirm. She'd done her best to be pleasant, and usually managed to escape the confrontations with grace, but they always came back. The people, however, she didn't mind so much. They were just so numerous. She gave the beggars coins, and had more than once deposited some of her sweetrolls into the hands of a hungry-looking child, but there were always more beggars and hungry children that she hadn't seen.

There seemed to be even more of them as of late. The political climate of Albion was veering into dangerous territory, she could tell. Every week, the people looked more beleaguered, hungry, and ill-clothed. She didn't see how Logan's current policies could survive at this rate. They were heading for a rebellion, and fast. She dropped another few coins into the hand of a woman being told by the shopkeep that she didn't have enough for her food, and headed back with Elise towards the castle.

* * *

They evidently had been having too good of a time, as they had been much longer in the market than they should have. But they'd heard so many disturbing things, it had been hard to leave. There were rumors that Logan had executed a worker that morning, and it had the whole of Bowerstone shocked. The people had asked her questions about it, and she was forced to say that she had no knowledge of whether or not the rumors were true. They hadn't been satisfied with the answer, to say the least, but had the kindness not to further molest her about it. She'd promised more than one person that she would try to find out, and talk to Logan, but she didn't think it would do much good. Logan hadn't been very interested on talking to anyone anymore.

Elise had followed her with haunted eyes, and they held hands tightly as they entered the castle grounds once more. The servants and guards in the castle seemed just as apprehensive as the citizens outside, and Ariana couldn't shake the growing fear in her stomach. It almost brought her to nausea, and was threatening to extend its realm of influence to her legs. She felt weak as she guided Elise to the gardens, where Elliott and Adrian were waiting for them. "What took you so long?" accused Adrian, "You were gone forever. It's a wonder that Logan didn't send out the guard, looking for you." "I suspect he has more important issues to attend to than my supposed truancy" Ariana whispered, half to herself. "So you have heard, then" Elliott stated somberly, moving closer to her to attempt to provide some comfort. Ariana didn't move, but clutched Elise's hand even tighter, as Elise said softly "It was all the villagers could talk about this morning. You…. don't think it's true, do you?"

Adrian glared her down, and Elise shrunk under his gaze. "Of course not" he bellowed. "Logan would never do such a thing. He always does the right thing, for us and Albion." Ariana wasn't so sure. Logan would try to do what was best for Albion, certainly. That doesn't mean that what he did was right. She consoled herself, stating that even if a factory worker was executed, they have no idea why. He could have been a criminal, a murderer even. Saying Logan had a worker executed didn't provide any context. There were thousands of factory workers in Bowerstone alone, it wouldn't be impossible for one or two of them to be criminals. Especially in the current economic situation. When things get bad, people get desperate. But still. Adrian had been incredibly rude. "Don't talk to her that way, Adrian" she admonished. "She merely asked a question, and it's the same question on the minds of everyone in this castle. She is a lady, and you need to treat her like one."

Elise looked at her gratefully through teary eyes, and Ariana gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "In any case", Elliott interrupted, "I told the servants that you both would go and speak with them. They need and deserve some answers, and while they may not favor their king, they still care for their Prince and Princess". Ariana slowly nodded, and looked over to Adrian. He just looked irritated. –Well, to be fair, you did just chastise him in front of two peers, and now he has to talk to a bunch of upset workers- her brain reminded, as a wave of anger passed over her. She didn't understand why he had to be so childish. It was rude and inconsiderate. A Prince should know better. Maybe it was those numerous head injuries that made him this way, but she couldn't help but be slightly irritated. He may have been her twin, but she sometimes felt like they couldn't possibly be related. He didn't understand why she spent all of her time reading and writing, she didn't understand his strange obsession with hitting things with sticks –hammers- she reminded herself. He'd graduated from sticks found in the garden to warhammers some time ago, but she couldn't always disassociate him now from the boisterous child she'd grown up with. Truthfully, he hadn't changed that much. Still running into things headfirst, still staunchly rooted in what he'd always held to be true. He didn't question much of anything from a figure of authority, and thinking for himself… wasn't one of his stronger qualities. She had to admire his honesty and loyalty, though. Even she was having doubts about Logan, but Adrian would never have any thoughts. Logan was his idol, and for good reason. Logan was so very accomplished. He was skilled in battle and in court, always diplomatic, and he could never be accused of not caring for his siblings. Adrian's dog, Boots, was a gift from Logan after one of his many voyages. Adrian had been so unhappy while Logan was away, and Ariana still smiled at the memory of the look on Adrian's face with his hero came home with a dog for him.

Those had been good times. They seemed so long ago now, though. Logan had come home from his last adventure alone, tight-lipped and haunted- looking. He hadn't left Bowerstone since, and he'd rapidly changed his leadership style. The policies he enacted became Draconian in nature, and the once-content people of Albion began to suffer. They were dying by degrees out there now, and she couldn't help but think that maybe there WAS something wrong with Logan. What had happened out there, on his last adventure? What wrath had the world wrought on her beloved sibling? She'd likely never know.

* * *

All four of them walked together, making their way to the kitchens. The knot in Ariana's stomach was growing tighter and tighter with every step, and she concentrated very hard on not showing her fear. When they reached the door, they all stopped. She looked over at Elise, who gave her a reassuring smile, took a deep breath, and entered the kitchen.

God, they looked as worried as she felt. –_Dead woman walking_- she thought to herself, _- I don't know_ _what I'm doing at all. _- She tried to smile comfortingly at them, and they returned the utterly lukewarm gesture. It wasn't that they didn't appreciate her attempt, it was that they were terrified. Adrian, luckily, decided to take the initiative. "Friends, and workers" he stated calmly "we have been asked to speak with you. My sister and I have heard your concerns, and we wanted you to know that you value you and your contributions and thoughts." He gave Ariana his most winning smile, and she instantly regretted ever doubting him. "We want you to know," she started, feeling more and more confident, "that we will go and speak to our brother. We are committed to making sure that you and your families' are taken care of, and will endeavor to make sure that your concerns are heard. We apologize that our brother has been… too preoccupied lately to note your concerns, but we will be sure to bring them to his attention. Thank you for listening, and please let us know if you have anything you need us to address."

The tension in the room had all but evaporated, leaving Ariana feeling hopeful and confident. Adrian then gently (for him, anyway) took her hand and guided her towards Walter, who was standing in the doorway. She hadn't even noticed he was there, but she now recalled Elliott saying he would be present. Evidently she had been too incapacitated by worry to really register things. That would be something she would need to work on. Freezing like that wouldn't help anyone, how could she possibly convince Logan to listen to her when she couldn't fully convince herself? Walter wanted to take them both to do some combat practice again, and she cheerfully complied. While her brother had always been given lessons, being stronger, she had been sorely neglected in that area. After she had given a thoroughly convincing case on why she needed combat training, her father had finally relented and given her a few lessons on shooting. They were both thrilled to see that she had a natural talent for it, but her father passed away before they got very far in her training. Obviously, she'd been completely ignored in her pleas for training with melee weapons, but her father had also given her a considerable dagger for self-defense, that she'd practiced with alone in her room. It wouldn't do to stab herself with her own weapon, after all.

* * *

Two months ago, Walter had decided that it was time for her to learn how to actually fight. He'd sauntered into the study where she was glaring hatefully at a particularly boring history book, and gently tossed a wooden sword at her. She was staring right at it, and it still hit her in the face. Still, she jumped at the chance to learn. She was truly terrible at it, though. She wasn't very strong, so they gave her the lightest sword they had. It was a glorified dagger at best. It was the only one they could find that she could regularly lift, however. Walter promised to have one made for her if she managed to successfully block five blows from him, but she hadn't even managed to block three in a row from him yet.

Walter confidently walked into the room and over to the weapons rack, and picked up the large sword on top. "Ariana" he called, as he picked up the smaller sword she'd been using and held it out hit-first at her.

"Yes, Walter?" Ariana called, quickly walking forward to take it from him.

"I want you to block me today" he said gruffly, "I need you to do it. Can you do that for me?" She nodded meekly, and took the defensive position Walter had laboriously taught her. She bent her knees, and centered her mass so that he wouldn't be able to knock her down so easily. She brought the sword up with both hands, and pulled it closer to her, with the blunt part parallel to her body. Then she looked up at Walter and prayed she didn't get any of it wrong this time.

Luckily, a big smile was his only reply. He moved towards her slowly and deliberately, and she watched his every step with hawk-like attention. Then he ran at her, and she instinctively rose the sword up to defend herself. The sound of metal on metal rang through the armory, and she grinned. One. Walter backed away, and came at her from the left. She anticipated him, and rose her arms. She could feel his sword pressing down on hers, but she refused to yield. Two. Walter darted to her right, and she nearly lost her balance attempting to counter his powerful swing. Three. Walter gave her some room to breathe, and circled around her. She felt like she was a mouse, being batted around by a cat. Her arms were sore, her breathing labored, and her legs felt like jelly. Then Walter crouched, and she instantly tensed in anticipation of his next attack. Walter, as usual, did not disappoint. She felt the sword waver in her hands as she blocked the incoming jab, and became increasingly worried about the integrity of her blade. Four. She'd never made it this far before, but she didn't want to stop now. She was sweating through her clothes, and she was pretty sure she had some nasty bruises forming on her arms and chest from the constant abuse. But at least bruises were much better than being dead.

She didn't dare take her eyes off of Walter, lest she miss it when he decided to make his next move. He seemed to be waiting for something, but she wasn't sure what. His eyes suddenly flashed with something –_recognition, maybe?_ - and charged full-tilt at her. She quickly stepped to the side, and rose her sword up to cover her, as he swung up and around at her. Five. She made it. She couldn't believe it. Walter was grinning from ear to ear, and reached out to touch her shoulder, but frowned. –_Oh, no, what now?-_ she asked herself –_What did I do?_- Walter smiled grimly and gestured to her arm, which she suddenly realized was rather wet and really hurt. She looked down to realize that at some point, she'd gotten cut.

"Oh, no!" she groaned. "Does that mean I didn't do it right?" Walter shook his head reassuringly at her, and gestured for her to come closer.

"No, that'll happen" said Walter. "Even if you block perfectly, odds are you'll get a few grazes. The point is just to avoid being skewered, anyway." Relief washed over her, and she nodded numbly, examining the damage to her arm. It didn't look like much, but she still needed to get it washed and dressed. Much like the rest of her, truth be told. Hard to smell like a beautiful rose after sweating like that. "You should go get cleaned up," Walter suggested. "I need to work with your brother anyway."

She left the armory feeling like she could conquer the world clad only in her childhood jammies and winning personality. Back in her room, Anna took one look at her and laughed. "Oh, yes, soooo funny" Ariana rolled her eyes in mock exasperation.

"Maybe I just… like you when you're sweaty?" Anna laughed. Ariana let Anna peel her out of her clothes, and winked back at her.

"Oh, I just bet you say that to all the girls" Ariana quipped, wriggling her way out of her corset, and towards the steaming bath in the next room. She scrubbed herself impossibly clean in the bathtub, relishing the heat of the water and the peace that being alone brought her.

Her reverie was to be short-lived, however. She heard a lot of commotion coming from downstairs, some shouting and other loud noises. She quickly arose, and flew to get dressed. Anna wasn't out in her room, but she'd left Ariana some nice clothes to wear for the rest of the day. She put them on as quickly as she could, leaving some of the more complex pieces behind for times' sake. She then rushed downstairs to see what all the fuss was about. No one was downstairs that she could see, and she walked from room to room, trying to find anyone that could explain what had happened.

As she drew near the throne room, she heard people talking, so she drew closer. –Odd, there wasn't anything scheduled today- she thought to herself, as she made her way down the hallway. She reached for the doorknob to peek inside, and it opened. Walter stood in the doorway and stared down at her. She looked up at him in panic and tried to gauge whether she should make a break for the nearest closet and hide. But when she looked up at him, she wasn't prepared for what she found there. It was just…extreme sadness and surprise. He evidently hadn't been anticipating seeing her. "What… what happened?" she whispered, because if Walter was upset, this was bad. His eyes flashed with fear and regret, and she felt like the world was about to swallow her whole. "I'm so, so sorry" he whispered, reaching out to her. She let him hug her, trying to feel safe in his big, bulky arms, but she just felt more confused and scared. Walter hadn't hugged her like since…. - Oh, Avo. He hasn't hugged me since my parents died- her heart wrenched inside her chest, and she breathed "who?" Walter refused to move, to look her in the eyes, and said "Elise. Logan made an example of Elise."

* * *

She laid quietly on her bed now. She'd cried for what felt like days, and she couldn't cry anymore. Her eyes just wouldn't do it. She realized it hadn't even been an hour yet, when Anna cheerfully strode into her bedroom. –_Of course she wouldn't know what happened yet_- she suddenly realized –_They don't tell the servants anything. She won't know until after Elise has been executed_- Try as she might, though, her arms and legs were loath to obey her command to rise and tell Anna what happened. She just felt numb.

Anna bustled around the room, picking up the enormous mess Ariana had made earlier when getting dressed, straightening drawers, placing dirty clothes in the basket, and putting away the clean clothes Ariana had left in her wake. She paused by the dresser, though, and picked up something that Ariana couldn't see. "That's a lovely morning glory," Anna said thoughtfully, "Did Elliott give this to you? You do know what it means, right?"

Anna walked softly to the bed, and placed the flower in Ariana's open hand. Ariana opened her mouth, but she couldn't find the words she needed. With great trepidation, she looked over and met Anna's gaze. Anna sat down on the bed beside her, and patted her lap. Ariana flopped over and placed her head on Anna's lap, and buried her face in Anna's stomach.

"What happened, my little bird?" Anna said, softly, reaching out to stroke Ariana's hair. "Is something wrong?"

-_Everything is wrong_- Ariana thought morosely. "Elise" she croaked out.

"What about her, little bird?" Anna said softly, running her fingers through Ariana's hair. "Is Elise all right?" Ariana looked up, and the look on her face was all Anna needed to know. "Oh, Avo, little bird, I'm so sorry" Anna whispered, and pulled Ariana up to hold her.

Ariana had been wrong, earlier. She could definitely still cry.


	2. Chapter 2

Anna had spent the better part of an hour coddling her before Ariana realized what she needed to do. She needed to talk to Logan, ask him WHY he would do such a thing. Walter hadn't had the heart to explain, and her brother owed her an explanation. Even as a King, he wasn't allowed to just slaughter citizens without justification. He should be held accountable for his actions, and if no one else had the spine to remind him, she did. She had to make him see.

She dried her eyes, straightened her hair and clothes, and sent Anna to that venomous Hobson to request a private audience with her brother. Anna came back a few long minutes later, and said that Logan would meet with her in the study as soon as possible. This surprised Ariana, actually. She had been terrified that he had refused to see her at all.

She made her way there slowly and deliberately. As she walked past the old suits of armor and family paintings, she planned her words carefully. It wouldn't help her case to anger Logan. She had to appeal to logic, and failing that, his affection for her. She didn't like the idea of an emotional plea, but it would be much better than letting Elise die without even trying. –_Elise could very well be dead already_- she reminded herself –_there's a very real possibility that there's no point in this exercise. But I have to try, and I can't chicken out now_.-

She paused outside the door to the study and braced herself. She thought of that sad, wilting, little flower in her bedroom. Her doubts about speaking to him utterly vanished, and she flung open the double doors with a renewed sense of purpose.

Logan was facing out the windows that faced Old Town, and he quickly turned when he heard the doors swing open. "You certainly know how to make an entrance, Ariana" he said humorlessly, walking towards her.

She raised her hand to stop him. "Don't act so damned casual, Logan. I want, no, NEED you to explain this to me. Why did you do this? What were you THINKING!" She leaned forward and slammed her hands down on the table between them. She glared at him, while he stared at a place between them and silently thought to himself. "Well? You didn't agree to meet with me just to give me an opportunity to strangle you with the curtains, did you?"

Logan looked up at her, and quietly responded "No. That's not why I agreed to meet you." He moved over to the chair in the corner of the room and sat down. "Sit, Ariana. I need to speak with you."

She silently moved to the chair across from him. Sitting across from him now, she could see that he looked positively ill –_Was he like that before? I know I'd noticed that he'd been looking tired, but how many people have seen him this closely lately? He looks like he hasn't slept in months, and his eyes look so sad. Just what happened to him? _- she said nothing, however, and waited for him to speak.

Logan directly at her, and his eyes hardened in a way that made her cringe, "Ariana, I did what I did to help the people." Her mouth dropped open in disgust. She stood, and angrily swept towards him, and grabbed his shoulders.

"How is killing a 19 year old girl helping the people?! YOU MURDERED MY FRIEND! And for what? What crime did she possibly commit, to merit death? Did she ask you a question?!" She screamed in his face, and he refused to meet her angry gaze.

He looked distinctly uncomfortable, and stared down at the floor. "She and Adrian followed Walter to the War Room, and were looking through the keyhole. Spying is a crime punishable by death, Ariana." Her face contorted with anger again, and she stalked away across the room. She had to be away from him.

"She was just a child, Logan. I'd almost bet that Adrian dragged her there." She said softly. "Did you even think of that?"

"Of course", sighed Logan. "But Adrian… had to learn that there are consequences for his actions." Her stomach leapt up into her throat, and she had to restrain the urge to strangle Logan to death.

"You killed Elise… to teach Adrian?" she gasped out. "What the hell were you thinking? A human being isn't an object lesson, you sick fucking bastard! People are not just toys or tools to be used for your benefit!"

"He had to learn" Logan insisted, simply. "He burst into the War Room, where he should not have been, because he didn't want the rebels executed. I made him make a choice."

Ariana's blood suddenly ran cold, and she reflexively brought her hands up to rub on her arms to attempt to warm them. She wasn't prepared for that at all. She had been utterly betrayed by BOTH of her brothers in one day. She had never felt so alone in all her life.

Logan continued on as if he hadn't just firebombed her entire worldview, "I gave him the chance to free the rebel leaders. He could have chosen to let Elise or the rebel leaders. I told him if he didn't choose, I would have them all executed. He chose to let the rebel leaders go, Ariana."

He was a monster. An absolute monster. She couldn't even bear to think about Adrian now. She didn't want to think about the choice she would have made. All at once, the world seemed too much to take, and she put a hand out on the bookcase to help her stay standing.

"He said he would never forgive me" Logan said quietly. She forced herself to turn to look at him. He was staring into the fire, radiating a sadness she did not want to see.

"I don't think I can forgive you either" she whispered, trying to hold back the tears from her eyes. Logan looked up at her, a sad understanding in his eyes.

He leaned forward onto his knees and put his head in his hands. "I thought you might be the one who understood" he said so softly she could barely hear him.

"Understand what, Logan? I've tried so hard, but you don't explain anything to me. Now my best – in fact, my ONLY friend is dead, and I have both of my brothers to thank for it! Why are you doing this? All I want is to understand! I want to understand why the people outside are starving, why people are being executed without due process, why everyone around me is dying! Is that what a King does? Kill his people to "help" them?" she half-shouted.

He looked up at her helplessly, and drooped his shoulders. It was odd to see him this way. He was the King, always poised and confident. He had always looked imposing in his armor, but the way he was slumped in his chair made him seem so small and weak. Had the circumstances been different, she would have gone to him, comforted him, and hugged her brother. It hurt her heart to see her brother like this, but he was also a monster.

She looked back to the bookcase. Life was easier in black and white, when Logan had been a white knight. As a child, she had idolized him just as much as Adrian did. He was so noble, so strong, so resolute. Now, he looked like a broken toy soldier. He didn't even have the decency to be evil to make her hatred of him easier. She didn't know how to say anything to him, and so she didn't.

They shared a long moment of silence. Neither of them would look at each other.

"I think I should leave" she finally muttered softly, and turned to the door. She walked quietly to the door, and paused. She looked at Logan, halfway hoping that he would offer her something. –_Please, Logan- _she pleaded in her head–_say something, anything. I need to know you're not a villain. I know you aren't what the people think you are. Just give me a reason, Logan, and I promise I'll try to understand_- but Logan was absorbed in his own thoughts. He stared sadly into the fire, and Ariana sighed sadly and left the room. –_perhaps it was too much to ask for him to provide me some peace, when he can't afford his own_- she thought, as she marched solemnly to her bedroom.

* * *

When she arrived in her room, it was dark. It seemed fitting, with how today had gone. "AHEM" she heard to her left, and she jumped. To her surprise, Walter was standing in the corner, next to her dresser. "Walter," she sighed, "you scared the piss out of me."

Now Walter was taken by surprise. "I don't think princesses are supposed to say things like that" he alleged kindly. He walked towards her and held out his arms. She accepted the embrace gladly this time, and took some comfort that she wasn't entirely alone.

"I don't think they're normally supposed to have to deal with things like this, either" she said tiredly, and pulled away from Walter to go sit on the bed, "I'm tired."

"I bet," said Walter, "but I'm afraid I have to ask you to do something else." He walked over to her stiffly, and sat down on the bed.

"When did you get injured?" she asked him, staring at the wall in front of her. Walter looked a little abashed at that, and followed suit in staring at the (not very interesting) wallpaper. "Logan?" she asked rhetorically, and he nodded. "What would you like to ask me, Walter?"

He turned to face her, and put his colossal hand on her tiny shoulder. "I think we can both agree that the situation isn't good," Walter said gruffly, "and something needs to be done. I've spoken with Jasper and Anna, and we're taking you and your brother. We would need to leave immediately, so that we aren't followed or stopped. If we're quick and careful enough, no one will even know we're gone until we're outside of Bowerstone."

She nodded slowly, and started to rise. "I just need to grab something, first" she said unevenly, but Walter caught her hand.

"We don't really have time for that," he said with concern.

She shook her head and pulled her hand away. "What I need is right here in this dresser, it's not going to take even a minute." Walter stood, and walked with her to the dresser. She opened it and pulled out her coin purse, gun, and knife. She tucked the knife with its sheath under the band wrapped around her waist, and put the gun in her pocket with her coin purse.

"Is that your father's Red Dragon?" Walter asked, and she nodded sadly. "It's a great gun" Walter offered graciously, "and I'm sure you've been taking good care of it." She smiled at him, and he held out his arm to escort her. "My lady" he offered, and she graciously took his arm. They walked to Adrian's room, where Jasper was desperately packing everything he could grab. "Leave it" Walter ordered.

Jasper looked positively befuddled. "Even the jammies?" he asked, as if no one had ever left home without their nighties before. Walter somehow managed to hold his ground, though.

"Even the jammies" Walter said, very solemnly. "We can't be that obvious that we're running away," Walter explained carefully. "The guards won't question us normally, but if we run out of here with luggage…"

"Fine" huffed Jasper, "but later, when you're all cold at night, or sleeping in your armor, don't blame me." Walter, unruffled, walked right past him and opened the door to the gardens.

"I think we can live with that", said Adrian, as he walked out from the closet where he'd been dressing and into the gardens with Walter.

Ariana had known that Adrian was coming with them, of course. Walter had told her as much. She hadn't been prepared for the terrifying amount of hatred she felt towards him, and it hit her like a carriage full of balverines. –_Avo, I hope that stops someday. I don't think I can bear to hate both of my siblings this much_-she thought as she followed them down the winding stairs and into the garden.

"Anna is waiting inside the tomb for us," Walter explained, sensing Ariana's ever-increasing discomfort. –_Oh, thank Avo. I wasn't sure how I'd survive with only Jasper, Walter, and Adrian for company. Between being chastised for un-ladylike behavior and having to deal with endless conversations about "proper sword balance" I'd probably commit ritualistic suicide by Hobbe in about a week._- They ran carefully and quietly through the dark gardens towards the tomb. It was strange how unfriendly the gardens (and, actually, the castle) had become in the span of the day. She had always felt her most comfortable here, and now… it felt cold and empty. Perhaps growing up felt like that sometimes.

"I never thought I'd be going in there again," Jasper said somberly, as they stood in the immense shadow the tomb provided.

Walter looked back at him and half-smirked, "You should have known better."

The steps into the tomb were long and ill-lit. That would have been surprising, but for that no one had come down here since they'd buried her father. Not for the first time, Ariana found herself wishing that her father was still here. Her father would have never let this happen. Logan would still be the gallant older brother she missed, and he would have all the time he needed to learn how to rule before having to take the crown. He'd been so young when it happened, really. Only a few years older than she was now, truth be told. He obviously hadn't been ready for the pressure. Or perhaps… he may just not have had the temperament for it. She'd likely never know what had really happened there.

Walter opened the door into the tomb, and it was just like she remembered it. So beautiful and spacious, but also so very cold and empty. It seemed such a pity to waste so much beautiful artwork and architecture on a place no one would ever see. Ariana felt relief wash over her as she saw Anna standing by one of the coffins. "Ariana!" Anna whispered fiercely, running up to her to squeeze her tightly, "I was started to get worried about you. I'm glad you're all right."

Ariana hugged her lightly, and stepped back. "Well, of course I'm all right", she deadpanned, "I had these brave warriors to protect me." She stepped to the left, revealing Jasper shivering and making faces at the spiders in the rafters.

"Of course, milady," Anna giggled, "only the best bodyguards for _you_."

Walter ran up to the base around the statue, and pushed in a brick somewhere along the wall. Ariana looked up in amazement to see the large statue's hands falling from her face, and in them was- "The Guild Seal" she breathed. She'd wondered where it went. Her father had always had it with him, and she remembered watching it glint in the sunlight, attached to his belt by a long cord. After he had passed, she'd asked Walter and Logan what had happened to it, and they had both told her they didn't know. She wasn't exactly surprised to learn they hadn't been honest. The Guild Seal was powerful, and being so representative of her father, could easily have been stolen and lost forever.

"Adrian, take the Seal" Walter said, and Ariana tore her eyes away from the Seal to look at her brother as she sighed. Of course, it would be too much to ask for her to be a Hero. That had always been Adrian's lot in life, not hers. She was small and reserved, not muscled and commanding like Adrian. He stared at the Seal much like she had, and then she could see determination flash across his face. He look long strides forward to the statue, and reverently picked it up with both hands. "What, isn't it supposed to do something?" Adrian asked, puzzled, and turned it around in his hands to start examining it "I was sure that something was supposed-"

Adrian was suddenly cut off by a bright light that seemed to engulf him. It picked him up off the ground, and he shouted in pain. Ariana panicked. She started to run towards him, determined to wrench the wretched thing away from him if need be. But as she ran toward him, the light waned, and then disappeared entirely. Adrian looked the same as he did before, only incredibly confused.

Ariana skidded to a halt. "What happened?" she asked. "It doesn't look like anything changed."

"I just spoke to Teresa," Adrian announced loudly, as he carefully put the Guild Seal in the pocket of his trousers.

"…and?" Ariana supplied, "What did she tell you? Anything interesting?"

Adrian shrugged, and walked between the coffins, towards the marked circle on the floor. "Something about a revolution and needing support."

"I'm glad your attention to detail is as impeccable as always" she snapped. "I'm sure an ancient seer _couldn't have possibly_ had anything important to say about this adventure we're undertaking."

Adrian, as always, seemed to either utterly disregard her use of sarcasm, or didn't understand it. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking," he shrugged, "I mean, when was the last time she left the Spire?"

She was going to murder him before he had a chance to save them all at this rate, she realized, and decided to let it go. There was nothing she could do to make him remember, or pay attention to details that could be important. She wasn't a Hero, either, so she was just along for the ride. What had she ever done to Walter to inspire this kind of cruelty? She wasn't of much use in the castle, either, but at least there she was relatively certain to not get gutted by a mercenary.

Adrian fiddled with the gauntlet on his hand –_Ok, well __**that**__ is new_-, and let off a ring of fire that left her feeling scorched. She quickly rose her hands to her face, checking to be sure that her eyebrows and lashes were still there. Luckily, they were, and by the time she moved her hands, she noted that the sarcophagi had been moved and there were stairs in their place.

"I knew there was a way out!" Walter happily trumpeted, as he and Adrian quickly made their way down the stairs into a large cave. Jasper, Anna, and Ariana exchanged some looks of concern before following. "Bats!" Walter shouted back, as Anna and Ariana rolled their eyes.

"Whoever thought that bats might live in a cave?" Ariana offered to Jasper, while he cowered (very gracefully) at the back of the group. He did not answer her, but he did take her hand when she offered it, and they all followed Adrian and Walter along the dark, narrow passage.

Ariana strode confidently, with Anna in one hand and Jasper in the other. She looked up to survey their surroundings, and noted that, with the exception of the intermittent torches on the walls, and doors (which she couldn't open, they needed a key or something) the cave looked mostly untouched by human hands. It seemed odd for her father to have had workers down here to make doors and occasional scaffolding, and leave most of the cave alone. "I like what Dad did with the place, very classy" she joked to Anna, who smiled amiably back at her.

"Your father always did have… interesting taste" offered Jasper, through his coat sleeve.

Ariana looked at him, puzzled. "Do you think the bats are going to try to fly into your mouth?"

Jasper frowned (she could tell because the wrinkles around his eyes creased in a _very familiar way_), and said "No. This cave is dusty and damp. It's absolutely filthy and the air is not preferable to breathe in directly."

"Aah." Was all she said, before she pulled gently on his hand to pull him farther into the cave. The sooner they were out of here, the better, as far as she was concerned. Adrian and Walter were much farther ahead, and they needed to catch up with them. –_How fast did they think two women in heavy skirts and an older man could possibly move_? - she thought in irritation. What if something worse had been behind them? She had her gun and knife, but she wasn't nearly as skilled as Adrian or Walter. She likely couldn't defend two people at once. She could barely take care of herself. She shook her head in frustration, and pulled Anna and Jasper forward, taking care to avoid the numerous holes and unsafe patches in the floor. –_This place is incredibly unsafe_- she grumped to herself –_you'd think Dad could have at least had those crews smooth the floor out_-.

Finally, after what seemed like ages in the unceasing darkness, they reached the end of the passage. Unfortunately, it seemed like the whole trip had been a rather nasty trick. There was no exit that Ariana could see, only another one of those patterned circles on the floor. "Dead end?" she asked, worriedly looking to Walter for assurance.

"No," he gestured at Adrian "Adrian, why don't you use that spell on that seal again?" Adrian begrudgingly stomped forward and activated the seal.

* * *

All at once, Ariana felt herself shifting, and decided that she did not care for the feeling at all. She lost Jasper's and Anna's hands, and groped around for them. She didn't want to be left alone again, and she didn't know where she was. She was falling, she realized, and pushed out her arms in front of her, to brace her inevitable landing. She closed her eyes and hoped that she would hit the ground soon.

The landing never came. She opened her eyes to see that she was in some sort of room she'd never seen before. There was a massive table in the center, and luckily everyone seemed to have made it in there with her. She stood up with some effort, and offered her hands to Jasper and Anna. She helped them off the floor, while Adrian and Walter explored the room a bit.

Walter walked up to the table, and Ariana soon joined him. It wasn't so much a table as a giant map. "It's just like the one in the War Room" she mused. "Whose is it?" she asked out loud.

"I think this is your father's Sanctuary," Walter said quietly, "he sometimes spoke of it, but I'd never really thought it was a real place." Ariana looked around, but there was no indication that she could see that her father had ever been there. There were books scattered around the room, but she didn't recognize any of them, and there were no personal possessions to pinpoint the identity of the room's owner. Walter picked up one of the books on the map, and confusion spread across his face. Ariana reached out to him, to ask what he'd seen, and he stated "Jasper, this book has your name on it."

Ariana recoiled. Why would a book here have Jasper's name on it? That was strange. Maybe this place really _had_ been her father's Sanctuary, like Walter had said. Jasper delicately pried the book from Walter's hands and quickly thumbed through the book. "The Book of Heroes?" he asked, confused. "I've never heard of it before. But you're right, Walter, it does have my name on it. I'll need some time to read through it."

"What do we do for now?" Adrian asked, eyeing the mess around them.

Ariana surveyed the room, and noted that there were doorways in the room. "First, I think we should explore the rest of the Sanctuary, then start cleaning up a bit. We'll need to find food and somewhere to sleep. If this really is Father's Sanctuary, I'm almost certain he'd have everything we need here. But without cleaning this place up, we aren't going to be able to find anything." Walter and Anna nodded, and began to pick up and stack the various books and papers in the room. Once they had the main room cleaned up, they went to explore the various hallways.

They found a dressing room, an armory, a treasury, a library, and a few bedrooms. There was also a kitchen, but it wasn't stocked too well. –Unsurprising, though. Most food would have gone bad in here, anyway.- There was a suitable supply of dried meat and fruit stocked up that was fine to eat, and a cask of ale. It wasn't the best spread Ariana had ever seen, but it was more than enough to feed the five of them for a few days while they figured out a plan.

First priority was dinner, and cleaning up the bedrooms so that they had a suitable place to sleep. The Sanctuary wasn't a huge mess, but the years of disuse had left everything covered in a thick layer of dust and grime. It only took a few hours to clean everything up properly, and after that, Adrian went to the armory to look at the weapons. Ariana, Anna, and Walter went to the library, where there were chairs, and sat down. "So, where would we start this little revolution of yours?" Ariana asked idly, pawing through a well-worn copy of "Relics of the Old Kingdom: A History", and looked over at Walter, who had collapsed onto a large cushioned chair.

Walter straightened a bit in his chair, and stroked his mustache in thought. "Mistpeak," he said, after a long moment of silence. Both Anna and Ariana looked a little confused.

Ariana hesitantly asked, "You mean the Dwellers? The people who live in the mountains and are generally very unfriendly to people trying to exert control over them? _Those people_?" From what she'd read, the Dwellers had never wanted to be under the influence of the crown in the first place. They were a nomadic people, and they had little interest in bowing to anyone's wishes but their own. They weren't likely to be their most supportive allies.

Walter nodded seriously, and stated "They hate your brother Logan more than anyone. He's made conditions unlivable for them, and so I'm sure that they'll help us." Ariana was skeptical, and evidently so was Anna, as she also looked unimpressed.

"The Dwellers aren't going to be our allies forever," Anna said slowly, "I don't think they'll want a new ruler any more than they want Logan."

Walter shook his head, "Adrian is a Hero, they'll follow him anyway. Besides, they're far enough away from Bowerstone that we can safely stay there for a while. By the time we leave, we'll have allies, information, and supplies."

Ariana took time to think about the situation, "But that's still a temporary solution." Walter looked up at her, confused. "Even if we put Adrian on the throne, which I'm not convinced is a good idea, what about if his children, or anyone else after him, isn't a Hero? They couldn't hold all that animosity in check." She took a breath, and continued "They're our best hope for now, but we're going to have to seriously think out a long- term plan to keep them happy. We can't have them choking at the bit later."

Walter leaned back into his chair, and stared at her thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose you're right," he said warmly. "I know the leader of the Dwellers. Sabine is a good man. We'll need to talk with him, and I'm sure he can come up with some solutions for the long-term as well."

Ariana sighed in relief. "I'm glad you know him. That will help our cause considerably. So, we go to the Dweller Camp tomorrow, then? Like you said, we're going to need supplies and support, and the sooner the better."

Walter nodded, and smiled. Ariana frowned a bit, and closed the book on her lap. Walter eyed her from across the room, and asked "What are you thinking, Ariana?"

She laughed a bit to herself, and stretched out in her chair. "I suppose I thought that the beginning of a revolution looked a lot more exciting. It seems to be all crawling through miserable caves and reading hideous amounts of literature. At least I came half-prepared."

* * *

The Dweller camp was the most miserable place Ariana had ever seen. She'd thought that the Market and Industrial was bad, but this was so much worse. While the camp was clean and habitable, the people were starving before her very eyes. A little girl she was walking past had grabbed her hand and offered to trade her doll for any food Ariana had with her. Ariana checked through her bag that Jasper had packed, and found some of the dried goods they'd eaten the night before. She gave the little girl some of them, and was almost crushed by the incredible amount of joy on the girl's face. –_I didn't give her much at all_- she reflected sadly –_when was the last time she ate?_- she pushed up the path to catch up with her brother and Walter, who were standing at a large wooden gate. Walter looked at her briefly before speaking.

"It's probably best that I speak with Sabine alone, regardless of how charming you both are" he stated calmly. "In the meantime, you should both find some new clothes that won't make you stand out quite so much. You look like royals on parade." Ariana glanced down at her outfits and over at Adrian, and knew it was true. Their clothes were fine, and some of her embroidery was done with gold thread. They stood out like a naked man in the snow around other people, especially the Dwellers. Not to mention that their current clothes were more suited to the moderate climate of Bowerstone, instead of the snow-covered mountain.

"All right, where do we go?" she asked idly, wanting to get into warmer clothes. Walter unclasped his money bag from his belt, and tossed it to Adrian.

"I'm sure you'll be able to find somebody who can take that gold off your hands" he said, "and if there's extra, you could probably pass some around to the people here. It looks like they'd be very grateful for the help." After traveling through the camp, Ariana couldn't agree more. They left Walter to go meet with Sabine, and she grabbed Adrian's hand and pulled him down the path.

"Where are we going?" he asked her, as she tugged him along.

She looked back at him, and said "towards the middle of the camp. I think I saw some trading caravans down there. If not, we could ask where we could buy some new clothes and I'm sure someone will help us." Adrian nodded his agreement, and they made their way down the long winding path to the center of the Dweller camp.

They found a clothing trader there, and she gave Adrian a triumphant smile. "See?" she said proudly, "I told you." He amiably grumbled his agreement, and she marched up to the clothing trader with a smile. "Hello," she chirped, "we needed some new clothes. These," she gestured to her and Adrian's fine and thin clothing, "aren't well suited to the climate here. And we look slightly conspicuous." The clothing trader smiled, and she noted that he seemed to have some sort of metal in his mouth. It glinted like the snow, and momentarily blinded her.

"I have just the thing," he said politely, "I have some traditional Dweller clothing here that you could have."

"That's just what we need," stated Adrian. "How much for them?"

"About 400 gold," said the trader, still smiling. Adrian went to count out the gold from Walter's coin pouch, but a Dweller girl came up from behind them and stopped him.

"Benin" she chastised, "these people are here to help us, don't overcharge them. Those clothes are worth 150 gold, at the absolute most." Ariana turned, shocked, to the girl next to her. Ariana had known he was overcharging, but she wasn't going to say anything. They needed the support of the Dwellers for their rebellion, and calling out a merchant for overcharging them probably wasn't the best way of going about that.

"Oh, fine." The merchant said, irked. "150 gold. But I'm not going any lower than that." Adrian nodded his assent, and put the gold in the merchant's hand. The merchant handed them their clothes, and they turned back to the girl.

"Thank you for saying something," Ariana said gratefully, "I don't know that anyone else would have done that. Could I ask your name?" The girl suddenly looked down at her feet, and kicked the dirt on the ground. "I'd just like to be able to address you by name" Ariana explained.

The girl contemplated this for a bit, then she seemed to gain some confidence and looked Ariana directly in the eyes. –_She has really pretty brown eyes_- Ariana noted –_she seems pretty sweet, too. Maybe she would answer some of the questions I've had about the Dwellers_.- "I'm Kira" the girl said, and brushed the hair out of her eyes.

"I'm Adrian, and this is my sister Ariana" Adrian said politely, "and thank you very much for helping us. We really should get back to the gate, though. Walter could be waiting for us." With that, Adrian turned and started up the path towards the Dweller court area. Ariana nodded, and took Kira's hand gratefully.

"It's been very nice meeting you" she said, "would you be all right with answering some of my questions later? You see, we haven't been out to Mistpeak before, and I'd like to know more about your people and the area." Kira nodded happily, and Ariana grinned. "I'll be back later, then" she promised, and ran after her brother.

* * *

At the gate, one of the guards kindly relayed the message that Walter and Sabine would still be talking for at least a few more hours. "You know politics," he said with a wink, "it takes about two hours before anyone gets past introductions and into the matter at hand. You should wander the camp a bit more. I'm sure you can find something to do. There's a hot spring up the path a bit, and plenty of people to talk to. We don't have much for food, but you're welcome to stay with us for as long as you like."

Ariana smiled, while Adrian pouted. They walked away, back towards the camp. "I had hoped that this would be faster." Adrian griped.

"Like that guard said, politics take a long time." She reasoned, "You can't people just to follow us because we asked them nicely. They need a reason, and they won't risk their lives and livelihoods without some sort of assurance. A leader like Sabine is going to be cautious. It's why he's in charge." Adrian still looked pretty irritated, and he angrily kicked at a rock on the ground. "Oh, don't act so childish," she admonished. "No one is going to want to follow you if you act like that. Also, this is a good chance to make some personal relationships with the Dwellers, maybe get some supplies. It's not so bad."

She left Adrian to grumble unhappily at some trees, and went to find Kira. She'd only been gone a few minutes, so she found her more or less where she'd left her. She was sitting at one of the larger campfires with a few other girls about Ariana's age. "Hi," she said, sitting down on the ground next to Kira.

"That didn't take long at all," Kira commented, "was something wrong?" She turned to face Ariana, and Ariana shook her head happily.

"No, nothing's wrong," said Ariana, "our friend is still talking to Sabine. I had hoped since I had some time that you would be able to talk with me. Would that be all right?"

"Of course," said Kira, "what did you want to know?" Ariana crossed her legs, and leaned forward to warm her hands near the fire.

"I just had some questions about the Dwellers in general. I was curious about your culture. Books are all very vague on your people." Ariana explained, as she rubbed her hands together.

Kira watched her frantically try to warm her hands and laughed. "Probably because you're all so terrible about the cold. We don't get any visitors, really."

Ariana gave up on trying to warm her hands, and sighed. "That's too bad. They just don't know what they're missing. For instance, you have all of this lovely… snow… and other things, I'm sure. I've only been here for about an hour. I can't claim to know much about your people, actually."

Kira threw her head back and laughed. "Well, we can't have that, can we? Come with me, I'll show you everything." She stood and patted the snow off of her clothes, and offered Ariana her hand. "When I get through with you, no one will know you from a real Dweller girl."

Ariana could only grin in response. –_Hey, look at me. Making friends_.-

* * *

Adrian couldn't help but be irritated by the delay in events. He should be getting the forces together to start a rebellion, not spending all his time freezing to death in an isolated mountain camp. He went up to the hot springs the guard had mentioned, and noted how nice and warm it was up here. –_Ariana's really missing out_- he thought –_this is the best place to be up here. It's freezing on Mistpeak, even with the warmer clothing_. – He took off his boots and socks, and sat down at the edge of the spring. He cautiously put one toe in the water. It felt fantastic. He put both his feet in the water and leaned back on his hands. That really hit the spot. He sat there for quite a while, and fielded occasional questions from the Dwellers who came by the spring. Common ones included "Are you really a prince?" and "What is that glove thing on your hand?" After a few hours of doing nothing, he started to realize just how long Walter was likely to be talking with Sabine.

He supposed that he should take Ariana's advice and look around for supplies. They didn't really have any weapons, and the food supply in the Sanctuary was incredibly low. He could at least be useful instead of waiting. He went back down to the middle of the camp, and asked the traders where he could buy food and weapons. He didn't have enough money for a weapon right now, evidently, and the merchant at the camp informed him that they were incredibly low on food. "Well," Adrian slowly said, "is there a way I could help you with that?"

At that, the merchant's face brightened significantly. "We haven't had too much luck with trapping or hunting lately. Between Logan's restrictions and the local wolf and mercenary problems, we are starving" the man admitted. "But if you would be able to go out and kill the wolves, we would be able to start hunting again. That would help us significantly, and if you help us, we can help you. We may not have much food, but we do have a decent amount of gold. It hasn't been much use to us lately, as we can't go to Brightwall."

"Why can't you go to Brightwall to buy food?" Adrian asked sympathetically.

"Mercenaries" the trader sighed. "They're everywhere, and they kill and rob any of our caravans they come across. They've been picking off our people, as we're easier targets. We don't have the resources to hire guards, and since they've started coming closer to the camp, we have to leave our fighters here to defend the children and civilians. I'm sure it would be even better if you could go and kill all the mercenaries, but even just killing the wolves would help us." Adrian nodded. He could definitely kill wolves with his fireball spell.

"I'll take care of it," he promised, "where should I look for them?"

The trader thought about it for a moment, then said "I think there are a few dens out there. One of the hunters would be able to tell you more. There's a hunter, Niket, who should be able to help you. Right now, he's probably by the main campfire."

"Thank you," Adrian said, as he turned to go find Niket.

"No, thank you!" called the trader. Adrian walked over to the campfire, where he saw Ariana happily chatting with some Dweller girls. One of them was putting beads into her hair, and the others were talking, or drawing things on the ground. Ariana seemed entranced with what the one girl was drawing, and he walked over to take a look. Adrian was glad that Ariana seemed to be doing so well, but he was surprised that she hadn't talked to him about Elise yet. He hoped she never would. He knew it was the right decision, but he didn't want to explain that to Ariana. She was always so delicate, and he was worried that she wouldn't be able to handle the truth about Elise. At least no one had told her that he had made the decision. To his knowledge, all she'd heard is that Logan had her killed.

Logan was the one truly at fault, he decided. Logan was evil, a tyrant that needed to be put down. Adrian couldn't believe he'd ever idolized that man. He would kill a factory worker for speaking out, would kill those rebel leaders for daring to oppose him. What else had he been doing that Adrian didn't know about? Ariana had always gone down to the Markets once a week, but he'd never been down there. He'd preferred to stay in the castle, practicing swordsmanship or sleeping in late. He was very out of his element with politics, and he knew it. Adrian was very glad Walter hadn't drug him in to talk with Sabine, in all honesty.

Ariana looked up at him, and for a second, he saw something in her eyes –_was it hate? What __**was**__ that?_- and it worried him. Then she reverted to her usual smiling self, and he relaxed. Maybe she just thought he was someone else, or startled her when he walked up. "Hey," he said, reaching forward to touch one of the beaded strands of her hair.

"Do you like it?" Ariana asked him anxiously. "They let me pick out the beads. I thought the turquoise stone beads were really pretty." He fingered the stone beads in question. They were undoubtedly pretty, and they looked very nice in her dark brown hair.

"They look beautiful," he offered, bringing a wide smile to her face, "who are your friends?"

"Oh," she grinned, "You already met Kira earlier," gesturing to the girl scrawling on the ground that had helped them with the merchant earlier, "this is Mila," –_The girl beading her hair, ok_- "and this is Seranah." –_Wow, she was certainly productive with the few hours we've been waiting_-.

"Nice to meet you," he greeted amiably. "I'm looking for Niket, do any of you know him?"

The girls looked confusedly at him. "Why are you asking for Niket?" queried Mila, as she tied the last bead into Ariana's hair and let the strands go.

"One of the merchants told me that's who I could talk to about finding the wolf dens in the area." He explained, and recognition dawned on the girls' faces.

Mila stood up, and Ariana followed suit. "So are you going to kill them so we can hunt?" Mila asked protectively.

"Yeah, I am," he said, finding himself feeling strangely small under her stare.

"Alright, then. Niket is my brother, I'll take you to him," stated Mila. She turned away from the fire, and beckoned him to follow her.

Ariana followed, too. At his cautionary glance, she insisted, "I'm coming, too. I want to learn to help, and I'm a good shot. You only have your gauntlet, you could use my help." He had to admit, she had a point. He hated it, but she did. He really had wanted to leave her in the Sanctuary, where she would be safe with Jasper and Anna. Walter had informed him that she would be coming whether he liked it or not, though.

"You know she can take care of herself," Walter had said, "and she needs and wants the experience. She has the touch with people that you don't, and handles the politics with ease. We need her."

Adrian hadn't fully ruled out that she might be a Hero, either. The way she'd picked up shooting was nothing short of extraordinary, and their father had always suspected she might be one. She'd never be strong, she was much too small for that, but a Hero of Skill certainly wasn't to be discounted. Father had spoken of one he'd met that sounded too terrifying to be true. He'd said that this Hero could shoot men from incredible distances and once shot and killed four men in the time it took his father to draw his gun. He hoped he'd never meet that Hero, but his father seemed sure he was still alive. Adrian didn't want to think about how skilled he would be now.

They went to a more secluded part of the camp that Adrian and Ariana hadn't seen earlier. Mila walked confidently in front of them, and Adrian couldn't help but notice that she had a very shapely behind. She was actually really cute. On a scale of one to ten, he gave her an eight. Kira had been about an eight, too. Where Mila had the body, Kira had a beautiful face and full lips. Seranah had been a six, or maybe a soft seven. She was alright, but nothing to write home about.

At least rating people's looks gave him something to do. He and Ariana had started doing it as children when they were stuck for long hours in court functions. Oddly enough, nobles generally weren't very attractive, so most of the higher ratings actually went to guards and servants. They had never determined whether it was the result of too much inbreeding or the hideous makeup that nobles usually wore, but it had always entertained them. It had become a bit of an inside joke between he and Ariana, but he doubted she would appreciate that he was eyeing her companion like meat.

Mila had stopped while he was thinking about her rear end, evidently, and he almost ran into her. He stopped short, and flailed about uselessly, attempting to both apologize and make a speedy escape from her personal bubble. Mila was grinning, and he felt his face turning red. He scuttled back behind Ariana, and Mila resumed walking, while chucking to herself. He let loose the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and Ariana turned to him and whispered "So what did you rate her at?"

He froze. Ariana started laughing loudly, and reached out to pat him on the shoulder. "It's ok, I think she likes you anyway. Not sure why, though. You're _hopeless._" She grabbed his hand, and yanked on him. He broke out of his stupor and smiled bashfully at her.

"I gave her an eight." Ariana guffawed, and turned to stifle her laughter into his shirt. She pulled away with tears in her eyes, and jerked on his hand.

"Come on, she already thinks you're weird, but I'd rather not also make her wait." They ran to catch up with Mila, and she was waiting for them outside a large caravan at the edge of the camp.

"Nice of you to show up," Mila smirked, "Niket is inside, come in with me."

Niket was a handsome young man, with black hair and a kind, tanned face. Niket looked up to greet them, as he was sharpening his knives. "Hello," Niket greeted them cheerfully "what can I help you with?"

Adrian moved forward, and stated "A trader told me you would know where I could find the wolf dens, so that you could hunt again."

Niket paused, and carefully examined Adrian and Ariana. "You two think you can clean out that many wolves?" he asked skeptically. "I mean you no offense, but you're both barely more than children, and you don't even seem to be armed."

Ariana looked a little miffed, and she stated, "Adrian is a Hero, he can burn them to ash. We'll be fine, and we would like to help you and your people so that you can hunt again. Will you tell us where the dens are?"

Adrian was actually pretty proud of her for that. Not that Ariana had ever been spineless, by any means, but she'd always seemed more content keeping quiet than making her opinions known. This was new for her. Maybe Walter had been right. She'd needed this as much as he had.

Niket seemed to mull this information over slowly, and looked Adrian up and down. Unfortunately, he still looked more like a misplaced teen than a Hero, but he was hoping that his confidence would be enough to convince Niket for now. Mila spoke from behind them, "Niket, just tell them where it is. If you don't tell them, they'll find someone else who will. I'm sure they'll be all right."

Niket eventually relented, and motioned for them to come closer. "Give me your map of the area," he said, and Adrian blanched. He didn't have one of those. He hadn't even thought of it, and he began to panic. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ariana pull one out of her pack. –_Of course she thought of that_- he scolded himself –_she thought ahead, and you just ran in unthinking, again. What would I do if she wasn't here? Get lost in the woods on my way to Brightwall and starve?_- he was suddenly very glad for her presence. Without her, Jasper, and Walter, he wouldn't know what to do at all. He'd probably still be at home, hitting practice dummies with swords for hours.

"Just be sure that you're careful, all right?" cautioned Niket. "These wolves are vicious. They're just as hungry as we are, and so they're very fierce. If you have any trouble, just run back to here. No sense in dying, all right?" Ariana and Adrian both nodded, and Ariana carefully took back the map and folded it into her pocket. "When are you going? Now?" Niket asked them.

"Yes, most likely. It's only afternoon, and we can easily be back before night falls." said Adrian, as he nervously fidgeted with the pockets of his vest.

Niket nodded. "Good plan. If you have any trouble, just please come back, all right?"

Adrian and Ariana left Nike and Mila behind in their wagon, and walked in the direction of the dens. "You sure you're ready for this?" he asked. "I'm just scared you're going to get hurt."

She shot an angry look at him and kept walking. "I think that getting hurt is probably part of the job. In any case, if I don't start now, when will I get better? Wolves are probably the best foe to start with in Albion, anyway. Would you rather I wait until we find Hollow Men, or Hobbes? How about Balverines? Wolves at least can't shoot me."

Adrian felt ashamed. Of course this was a good idea. It was just hard to want to let her walk into danger like that. She was so small, and everything about her screamed "breakable". Her soft hair, gentle features, and even temperament made her seem more like a porcelain doll than a human being sometimes. But he couldn't think that way. At least to him, if not to anyone else, she was a Hero, too. "Of course," he said, "I'm sorry. I just don't want you to get hurt. I know you can take care of yourself."

Ariana smiled at him, then, and stopped. She walked up to him and gave him a hug. "I know you mean well," she said, as she pushed unruly bangs out of his face, "but sometimes, the princess just has to rescue herself. Waiting in a tower is terribly overrated." She turned away again and started into the forest, with Adrian hot on her heels.

* * *

It didn't take them long to find the first den. There were tens of wolves milling around, and they all attacked. Adrian was surprised to see how easily he and Ariana took them down. Wolves weren't much of a concern at long range, and with his fireball spell and Ariana's gun, the wolves never even got close to them. They cleared the first den in a matter of minutes, actually, and spent a few minutes looking around. It was all over so quickly that they both hardly believed it.

It was the second den that presented more of a problem. The adult wolves were all slain in short order, but this one had wolf cubs. He shot a fireball at them, and their mother ran to attack him. He killed her with another fireball, and Ariana shrieked. It was almost an unholy noise, and he immediately shielded his ears with his hands. "Why did you do that?" she yelled at him. "What is wrong with you?"

He wasn't sure what she was yelling about at first. "What are you talking about, Ariana? We're here to kill wolves."

She looked at him fiercely, and he felt like he was shrinking. No matter what he'd done, she'd never looked at him that way before. "You killed baby animals," she said dangerously, "there was no reason to do that."

"They would have done the same thing when they were older," he justified, but it did not serve to placate Ariana at all.

"You heard Niket," she shouted, "They're doing this because they're hungry. I was fine with killing the wolves that attacked us, but that mother wolf was just defending her babies, and they didn't have anything to do with what we were here for."

He still didn't understand what she was throwing a fit about. "They're wolves, Ariana. They're dangerous, and they kill people. They kill animals that people would have eaten and they're generally a nuisance. There's nothing wrong with killing them."

She gaped at him, then, like he'd just said something monstrous. Had he? "Adrian, you can't just kill something for _being._ That's not right." She walked away from him, towards the pile of wolf cubs. He couldn't see what she was doing, but then she stooped down, and picked something up. "This one is still alive!" she mumbled, bringing it close to her chest. "I'm bringing it home with us."

He couldn't believe it. Was something wrong with her head? "Ariana, it's a wolf. Leave it here. It'll be fine."

She stomped up to him with a fury he'd never seen before, and stated, "No. It won't. If I leave it here, it will starve to death. You killed its mother. A baby can't live on its own. So I'm taking it back to the Sanctuary, and I'm keeping it. I've always wanted a dog, anyway." With that, she walked back to the Dweller camp, leaving Adrian behind.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I'm hoping to get the fourth chapter written and up before the end of the week. I'd really love to hear your thoughts, so reviews would be extra nice. That being said, I'm not a huge fan of these, so I'd like to move on with the story.

FINDYOGRAILMOFO

Ana and Ariana were having a fantastic time with the new wolf puppy. Ana had made a milk replacement for it, and Ariana was nursing it in the library. Once the puppy was content, it fell asleep, and Ariana opened the book she'd been intending to read. "It's just so cute," Ana crooned, "what are you going to name it?"

Ariana frowned a bit, and put a bookmark in the page. "I'm not sure, honestly" she admitted, "but it just has to be better than 'Boots', right?". Anna laughed out loud, and covered her mouth immediately.

"Your brother was little when he named that dog," she justified to Ariana.

Ariana thought about it for a moment. "Boots is only three, Anna. We were sixteen."

Anna laughed her way out of the room, but stopped to pet the sleeping pup on Ariana's lap. "We'll just have to start thinking of a good name, little bird. Have you asked Walter?"

Ariana looked abashed, and said, "I don't think Walter knows about it yet. He was still talking to Sabine when we went to the wolf dens. I didn't exactly stop in the Dweller camp with the little guy, either."

Anna nodded, and kept petting the wolf puppy. It reacted to her touch, and leaned into her hand. She sighed. "Probably a good idea that you didn't stop there. Some people would be reasonable, but it's possible that some others wouldn't be so kind. It's best to leave it here until it's old enough to defend itself, though you'll need to come here regularly. It needs to know you best, otherwise it isn't your dog." She looked up into Ariana's eyes directly and smiled. "Unless it was your intention to give myself and Jasper a guard wolf?"

Ariana giggled. "Although the idea is now tempting, no. I want it." She looked down at the puppy, puzzled. "How do we know what gender it is? That's going to be important when naming it."

Anna laughed, and reached to stroke Ariana's hair, as well. "I'll show you tomorrow. Let's not wake it up right now, it just fell asleep. Why don't you go back to reading for a while?"

Ariana hadn't heard a better idea all day.

* * *

Walter had been in talks with Sabine for a whole day. –_Figures_- Ariana thought drily. –_These sorts of things involve all sorts of promises. I'm just hoping Walter hasn't promised anything we won't be able to provide._-

She needn't have worried. Sabine seemed to be under the impression that they were getting their mountains back, and storming Bowerstone using a can-do attitude. –_Those things I can promise you happily_- she thought, and bounced from side to side. But before Sabine was going to agree to anything, he announced that he had some conditions. Ariana drooped a bit at hearing that, though she was less than surprised. That was to be expected, after all. No one should be so willing to follow two unproven children into battle over a few promises.

"First," Sabine announced sharply, "you need to prove you are, in fact, a Hero. This is easily proved" –_oh, yes. That usually only requires large amounts of maiming and death, of course. Would you like a Balverine pelt for your bed as proof?_- "By going to the Academy in Brightwood and collecting your father's treasure from there. Then, we want you to solve the problem of the mercenaries that plague our people" –_because none of this could ever be easy_- "and finally, convince the people of Brightwall to send us aid."

"Is that all?" Adrian said sarcastically. Apparently he also felt that Sabine was being a bit unrealistic. –_We're going to be gone for months, doing ridiculous tasks for __**just one**__ ridiculous little man_- Ariana thought to herself, irritated. –_I hope to Avo that no one else is this demanding, Logan will die of old age before we get a rebellion going.-_

Sabine looked them up and down, and quickly shook his head. "Nope! That's all! Get going!" and with that, he turned and left them.

Walter, Adrian, and Ariana left the camp together quietly. Once they were out of earshot of any Dwellers, Ariana let loose. "Balls, that man was crazy." She said, shaking her head. Walter and Adrian only nodded, and proceeded down the long mountain path to Brightwall.

* * *

The trek down to Brightwall was exceedingly tedious, Ariana decided, as she shot another bandit. They hadn't managed to go five minutes without some more smelly nitwits dropping from trees, shouting excitedly at the prospect of taking their money.

Bandits really weren't very intelligent, evidently. Or maybe they were just incredibly disorganized. Either way, this fell easily into the morally gray area Ariana had assigned to most of the things she and Adrian were likely to have to do.

"Help!" someone screamed farther down the path, and Adrian ran off towards the voice, leaving burning flora in his wake. Ariana hung her head and sighed. Adrian was a one man force of nature. The mountains would likely never recover from all the scorch marks. Adriana kicked idly at one such mark, –_Hey, maybe scorch marks add to the charm of the outdoors. What do I know? - _ shrugged her shoulders at Walter, and began to follow her brother.

She didn't have to go far, at least. He was standing next to some scared little man by the Mistpeak Monorail Station. –_Didn't even know we were near that_- she thought, as she closed the distance between them. The man was stuttering excitedly, something about Brightwall. She looked at Adrian for clarification, but he seemed about as mystified as she was.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you could speak a little slower? I'm afraid we aren't understanding you. Are you all right?" she asked calmly, hoping he would cease his muttering and form a coherent sentence. She wasn't going to leave him here, but she also wasn't sure of the wisdom in bringing a possibly insane person with them through a wood full of bandits.

"Oh, of course," the man stammered. "I'm a traveling trader, and I was hoping you would be able to escort me to Brightwall. You three seem very capable, and I'd be willing to pay you for the inconvenience." Adrian began to say something that was undoubtably noble, about how they shouldn't be needing payment for services rendered, but Ariana promptly and discreetly stepped on his toes.

Adrian jumped a bit, and Ariana gave him a warning look. They needed funds too badly for him to afford to be noble right now. "We would be amenable to that," she consented. "We're going that way anyway, but any funds you would give us would be most welcome."

The trader visibly brightened at that, and the words all seemed to burst out of his mouth at once. "Ohofcourse, I'mverygratefulthatyouwoulddothisforme, IpromiseIwon'tbeabother, is500goldanacceptablesumforthisundertaking?"

Ariana blinked for a minute while her brain unscrambled the veritable wall of words the merchant had thrown her way, then grinned. "500 gold would be very kind of you, sir. What is your name?"

"Billy" the trader bowed a bit, and grinned widely, displaying gold caps on his teeth. "Billy the Wandering Trader, at your service."

"Well, Billy," Walter supplied, "we should really get moving if we want to reach Brightwall by dark. Not sure we want to be navigating these heavy woods by moonlight if at all possible."

They all nodded, and Adrian began walking ahead with Walter. Ariana kept towards the back with Billy, as her gun really wasn't best used up close. It would have been a pleasant walk, if Billy iddn't insist on talking.

"I've been a wandering trader all my life," Billy started conversationally. Ariana smiled diplomatically, and desperately hoped he wasn't as chatty as the noble ladies at a court function.

"My mother was a wandering trader before me. My dad, well, even my mom didn't know who he was. Ha!" Ariana shot Billy a friendly smile as she continued down the path, and began to wish she'd made anyone else babysit the man. This was going to be a long, long walk to Brightwall.

Before it was over, Billy had told her his entire life story, from his birth in the woods of SIlverpines ("Oh, ho, my mother wasn't too happy about being laid up there!") to his current aspirations and fondest dreams ("I hope to set up a shop of my own someday, all this wandering and trading-trading and wandering, it really tires you out" –_What's the burnout rate for your guards? _- she thought weakly). After he'd finished with _his_ life story, he'd insisted on finding out _hers_.

"Where are you from?" he asked, inclining his head to indicate Adrian, Walter, and Ariana altogether. She couldn't decide whether he was trustworthy, but he was clearly too talkative to be entirely honest with.

"Just came down from Mistpeak Mountains," she said carefully, avoiding the whole truth.

He seemed downright delighted by that. "Oh, you're Dwellers, are you?" he asked excitedly. "I admit, I'd wondered from the beads in your hair. You and your brother's hair is so dark, too. But your father doesn't look like he's a Dweller. Must be a Bowerstone man by birth. How interesting!"

"Yes," she said meekly, "very."

"What are the Dwellers like?" he asked curiously. "I've been to the camp before, but they aren't always the most welcoming. Usually I just have to wait by the gate and someone comes out and trades with me." –_Probably because they sensed how irritating you are, and possess a better sense of self-preservation than I.-_ she thought morosely.

"The Dwellers are a very reclusive people," she said non-committedly. "We don't take to outsiders that well." He hummed thoughtfully for a moment, and then quieted entirely. Ariana didn't figure it would last, though. She just wasn't that lucky.

* * *

Brightwall was a pretty little hamlet, Ariana had to admit. It was bright and green and lovely, though you could tell that the people here weren't doing well economically, either. They obviously made a real effort to maintain their village, but it was apparent that Logan's taxes had been just as hard on them as the people of Bowerstone and the Dwellers. Adrian and Ariana made their way up the steep incline towards the Academy –_Is __**everything**__ going to be up an incline? Or does everyone who thinks they're important insist on being king of the mountain?- _and were surprised to see how gorgeous and large the Academy way.

"You know," Ariana said, tracing the long vines on the outside with her fingers, "Father always promised to bring me here someday. It seems strange to be here for the first time without him."

Adrian reached over and touched her shoulder. At the touch, Ariana snapped out of her stupor and looked back at him. Adrian smiled at her, and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "But we're here _now_" he reminded her. "I'm sure Dad would be proud. I know I'm not the best scholar, but I'm sure you'll be able to enjoy the Academy after we get that thing Sabine wanted."

Reinvigorated, Ariana flashed Adrian the biggest smile she could muster. "You're right," she said, and pushed the doors to the Academy open.

Her jaw dropped. This was the Academy her father had opened, the pinnacle of learning in Albion? There were books on the floor, dust everywhere, stains on every possible surface. It was deserted and ill-cared for. She wanted to cry.

She shuffled forward, and felt like maybe she should sing a funeral dirge for the education and advancement of mankind. There was a man at the reception desk, she saw, and moved towards him faster. How? She wanted to ask. How did this happen? When she was within a few feet of him, the man spoke, and she skidded to a stop in front of the desk. "We don't serve drinks, we don't sell chicken feed. Please leave before the soldiers suspect you of gaining any real knowledge." His words are appropriately embroiled in bitterness, and Adrian yanked on the back of her shirt.

"Do you think we should leave?" he whispered loudly. "We don't want the soldiers to notice us, Ariana."

The look she gave him was like he'd just pulled down his pants and shit on her shoe while standing on one foot. "We have to stay here anyway, and go get that thing for Sabine. There is no leaving." She hissed at him, and turned back to the man at the counter. "We aren't here for beer, I've never owned a chicken, and if those soldiers bother to come in here, I'll suffocate them with their ridiculous hats." She growled. "What happened here? I was told that this was Albion's highest center of learning. My father promised to take me here when I was old enough, and now I come to see it and it's little more than a crumbling pile of bricks." She sighed, and leaned back. She felt drained, and ran her fingers through her hair. Somehow it was much more comforting when Anna did it.

The man looked up, shocked, and his eyes softened. "You aren't actually villagers, are you?" It wasn't much of a question, really. Ariana had almost said as much.

Ariana looked at Adrian and sighed again. "Not even close."

"Then what are you here for?" Asked the man.

Ariana pushed Adrian forward, "I'm Princess Ariana, and this is my brother, Prince Adrian. He's a Hero and he can shoot fire out of his hands. We've come to look for something of our father's that we were told was here. Can you help us?" The man gaped. Understandable, really. She'd just given him a lot of weird information. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely, "we're both just a little new to this. We went to the Dwellers for help, and they had us come here. I don't think either of us realized how tedious this job was. Could I ask your name?"

"Samuel," the man stammered, "my name is Samuel. I'm in charge of the Academy. Or, at least, I was until King Logan closed it. Your father did say that one day a Hero challenger would come, I suppose I just never realized that would happen in my lifetime. Do you happen to have your father's Seal with you?"

Adrian presented it proudly, and Ariana smiled. "As you can see, he's the real deal. Would you be willing to help us, then?" she asked sweetly.

Samuel grinned happily, and carefully maneuvered around the piles of books on the floor and came around the counter. "Of course," he exclaimed, "just this way, follow me."

With that, Samuel turned down one of the many hallways in the main room. Adrian and Ariana followed him carefully, but Ariana couldn't help but be amazed by the sheer amount of literature she was seeing. She would love to have studied here. If she didn't need to go with Adrian, she probably could have spent the rest of her life here, reading. Evidently she'd stopped to examine some books and hadn't realized it, because Adrian came back and gently tugged at her arm. "We're following Samuel, remember?" he asked kindly, ruffling her hair. "We can make time for you to come back and read later. Maybe Samuel will even let you borrow some books. I bet you two would have a lot to talk about."

She hugged Adrian, then. She still had moments of wanting to scream at him, to pull his hair and wail and gnash her teeth sometimes, but they came and went. Luckily, they weren't too frequent, although occasionally she still felt the dull ache of hate in her stomach. But right now, she loved him unconditionally. Walter would have told her to keep her eyes on the goal. Jasper would have told her that gawping at literature when there was company present was rude, and Anna would have kindly reminded her that she had better things to do than read. Adrian understood.

"Let's go," he said, pulling away from her hug and offered her his arm.

"Oh, we're being genteel today, are we?" she laughed, and took it. He escorted her politely after Samuel, down the long winding hallways. They smelled like all amazing old books did, the aged paper and leather. She could have taken off, then, but for the arm holding her down.

"If I didn't escort you, you'd be halfway to the other side of the Academy by now, sitting in a fort made of historical texts." He teased her. "Unfortunately, we don't have the time for that right now. Maybe when we get back to the Sanctuary, I'll help you make a book fort. But you'd have to behave."

She shook her head, giggling, and let herself be escorted all the way to Samuel. He was standing in front of a large door, covered in cogs and gears. It looked so intimidating. "Where does that go?" She asked Samuel.

Samuel straightened, and gestured to Adrian. "It leads to the Reliquary. Funny thing, there were so many teachers here that devoted time to studying that door. I'm sure only one thing can do it, though. Your father's Guild Seal. He wouldn't have made this so difficult, otherwise."

Ariana nodded and sighed. "Of course." She let Adrian's arm go, so that he could effectively rifle through his pack for the Seal, and stepped up to examine the door. There wasn't a clear place for the Seal to go, though she could see why Samuel was sure it was the key. There were about seven different notches the Seal could fit into, and she suddenly realized why none of those teachers had ever gotten close to understanding the door. It was a puzzle. A puzzle for which they didn't even have a key. They wouldn't have seen the pattern, it just looked like decorative swirls and circles on the heavy metal door.

-_How like Father_- she mused, examining the various cogs and other mechanisms the door had to offer. –_He always did love a good puzzle. This doesn't seem like the brightest idea, however. What if the Hero hadn't gotten the Seal? Or if they hadn't been very clever?_- This all seemed more ludicrous by the second. The cogs seemed to be in a certain order, now that she thought of it. It was needlessly cyclical, but it seemed the kind of answer her father would have liked.

"Um, Ariana?" came Adrian's voice from behind her. She'd forgotten they were there, again. Evidently she'd been too absorbed in trying to figure out the unlocking mechanism. Though, she supposed, it was more Adrian's problem than hers. She turned around to face him, and blushed.

"I'm sorry, I'll get out of the way," she apologized, but Adrian shook his head frantically. He looked for all the world like a terrified puppy in a thunderstorm.

"No," he vocalized, holding the Seal out to her. "I think you have a better chance of figuring this out than I do. I don't want to break anything. You're better at things like this than I am. Father probably meant for you to do this."

She sat for a long moment, staring hopelessly at the Seal in her brother's hands. He was possibly right. Her father had sat for long hours with her, helping her through his favorite puzzles and anything else he could think of. So it was possible. It was also possible that this was just her father's favorite way of securing things.

Problem was, she wasn't sure she wanted to touch that Seal. She would feel crushed if she wasn't a Hero, then. Now she had the security of uncertainty, but if she touched it and nothing happened, she'd be forced to confront her failure. Even worse, what if she _was_ a Hero? Everyone already placed so much faith in her and her brother. If she was a Hero, it could get so much worse.

* * *

Adrian kept holding out the Seal to Ariana, but she just looked at it like it was a venomous snake. –Come on, take it- he pleaded. –I can't figure out this stupid door anyway, and I really want to know if you're a Hero, too. It would make this so much less terrifying if you were.- He really hoped she was a Hero. Neither of them knew what they were doing, but at least this way he wouldn't feel so alone.

He gave her a desperate smile as she rose up off the ground. Her eyes were full of anticipation, and she nervously reached out for the Seal. Adrian clenched his eyes tight as her hands clasped over it in his hands. He opened his eyes, and stared at her attentively for any change. She looked disappointed. "I thought maybe…" she whispered, and tears began to form in her eyes.

He reached out to her, and said "I'm so sorry, I thought-"

Just then, a flash of light burst out from around Ariana, and pushed Adrian back onto the ground. Samuel ducked behind a suit of armor and cowered on the ground. Ariana was screaming, which sent Adrian into a panic. He scrambled frantically to get up, but by the time he was on his feet, she was on her knees on the floor, shaking. He quickly went to her, and grabbed her shoulders with both hands. "Ariana, are you all right?" he gasped, and lifted up her chin to look at her face.

She was crying and grinning. "I'm a Hero," she whispered.


End file.
